October 04, 2009

Some may feel that Notre Dame, at 4-1 after three straight heart-stopping finishes, remains a relatively unknown quantity. Are the Irish indeed that good, not just lucky? Or have they eked by against fair-to-middling competition and eventually will see the bottom fall out?

Charlie Weis, as you might expect, goes with the former.

"If you look at some of the other teams that are playing and look at how their games have gone, tell me where the difference is," the Irish coach said Sunday. "I can go right up to the top 10 and work right on down. You tell me what teams that are in there haven't had some trouble in their schedule. I mean, almost everybody has.

"So you go right down the list. We've had one loss by four points on the road with 11 seconds to go in the game. So the flipside of it, we're 11 seconds away from being undefeated right now. I think if you really study the polls, you really have to study which teams that are there and who they played and how they played. If you compare apples to apples, I think that we deserve to be there right with everybody else."

Notre Dame of course gets the chance to prove that when USC visits in a little less than two weeks. Here were more Weis words on pertinent topics Sunday...

On Jimmy Clausen's play so far: "When you have a quarterback like that, you've got a chance to win every time you play, and that really is the bottom line. The kid is playing at a very, very high level, and everyone knows who's on deck. We don't have to underestimate that we have a top opponent on deck, but the way this quarterback is playing and the way he's acting and the way he's leading the team, the confidence the team has in him, you've got a chance to win every time you play."

On Manti Te'o's first truly extended action Saturday: "Manti was very, very active in the game, involved in a whole bunch of tackles, and as we discussed last week, you're going to go through some growing pains when he's going to be out there that much.But his speed and athleticism covered for a lot."

On Golden Tate's production Saturday: "The most important thing is when he had the ball in his hands, he was really, really dangerous. Now, we will have some fun at his expense coming up shortly in the team meeting. Getting knocked out on the two yard line, first play of the second half, run the reverse first play of the game and not scoring a touchdown, trying to do a triple axel in overtime. So there will be some fun at his expense. But who can argue the production you got out of this kid; he had a great game."

On Armando Allen's ankle injury: "I really think that Armando could have gone back into the game, but he was starting to be stiff standing on the sideline, and to be honest with you, Robert (Hughes) had it rocking and rolling at the time. If Armando was ready to go back in, I certainly wasn't going to take Robert out when we had momentum with him in there. I think once he got in there and got it going, that wasn't a time to make a switch."

On how the team continues to win late: "I mean, who can question the team's heart?That's far from perfect now.There's plenty of flaws in our team, starting from the head coach right on down.There's plenty of flaws.But I'd have to say one thing that goes across the whole party lines, from the coaching staff through the players, I think that there's a lot of heart, and I think that that's really become very evident in the last four games."

On corrections that need to be made: "If you ask me if there's a lot of things I'll be critical of today, yeah, there's a whole bunch of them. I've mentioned to you before, and I'll talk a little bit in general, there's so many things that we can fix or we can work on on offense and defense and special teams, it's almost fortunate that you have an extra week because it allows you to spend time on fundamentals. There's just some fundamental things we have to get better at, and it's true on all three facets of our team."

On the end-of-bye-week schedule: "On Thursday morning, the full team will have an early morning run and lift, and then they will be off from practice Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, so a lot of them can try to get away for a long weekend. Some of them won't be able to get away because this is obviously not a break week, so classes are still in session. But because they knew the schedule, I gave them an opportunity to try to work out with their professors to not be able to miss too much from class if they decide to try to go home for a long weekend."

On Brian Smith at middle linebacker: "He made significant progress at middle linebacker because he settled in at one position. He didn't go back and forth between the two positions in the game. That's the best he's played at middle linebacker this year. I think part of that is because he wasn't bouncing back and forth between the two positions."

On defensive line play against Washington: "Kerry Neal had an excellent game. He was active in the backfield, in the backfield all day, and I think that he went right along with the rest of those defensive linemen. Ethan (Johnson), that's the most production we've had out of him all year. The defensive line as a whole, I think we had them down earlier for like 24 tackles in a game from the defensive line position, which is a significant upgrade from where we've been in a lot of other games."

On the limited action Duval Kamara saw Saturday: "Ever since he's had that knee (surgery) at this beginning of the year, it's been a little sore, so we decided in this game that we were going to use him just as a blocker and Wildcat only. We were just going to use him at blocker and Wildcat and try to get him to the bye where he'd get now a whole 'nother week of rest so that we can get him for the long haul, for the seven in a row you've got dialed up next."

On the roughing-the-snapper call Saturday: "I believe that that call was in error. Roughing the snapper is when you put a guy over the center, over his head. It's trying to protect the center so the center doesn't get killed. If you line up over his head and run right through him, that is a call. If you go back and watch that play, at least from the multiple times I watched it this morning, Ian (Williams) got called for it, and Ian was on his left shoulder, on the center's right shoulder, but he was on the defensive left side trying to penetrate into that 'A' gap, and it didn't look to me at all like he was trying to go through the guy's helmet."

On former Washington assistant Randy Hart singing the fight song Saturday: "I gave Randy Hart the game ball. Trust me, I'll award a lot of players today privately, but I think any time a guy has been in a place for 21 years and put his blood, sweat and tears into a place and then leaves -- I thought that he'd be the perfect person. There were too many people to single out in that locker room, but I couldn't think of a person I'd rather let do it. He actually knew the words. At least he knew how to go one two, one two three four. He knew that part, even if he fudged it the rest of the time. He was up on that stool and he had that ball in his arm, and he was like a proud papa."

On gleaning info about USC from playing Washington, which is led by former Trojans assistants: "Unfortunately it's significant both ways.It's not just like what we could use, it's also what they could use.They're doing the same thing we're doing.There are very similar offensive schemes and defensive schemes there, and (they're) saying, 'Washington did this against them, that hurt them; Washington did that against them, that hurt them.'So both teams will be able to gain information from that game."

On Anthony McDonald's concussion: "He gets up off the ground ‑‑ you know that old thing, 'He's going the wrong way!'That was him.He was actually running the opposite way from where everyone else was going.I'm yelling for a trainer.I'm not even watching the kickoff now because I see him dazed and confused.I'm almost wanting to go out on the field myself because I'm yelling for the trainers, because you knew this is a guy who was knocked out on his feet at the time."

On the backwards pass to Armando Allen that Washington returned for a score: "The quarterback has two options; throw it to the tight end or throw a swing pass to Armando. They locked on to the tight end, so he wasn't there. So when (Clausen) turned to throw to Armando, he expected Armando to be outside already, but (Allen) was getting bumped or grabbed by the defensive end, who the tackle was simultaneously trying to block. So Armando was trying to get around (Paul) Duncan's block to get to the spot so (Clausen) could dump the ball over there. It was definitely a lateral and it was a mistake by us, and they picked it up and ran for a score, and that's one on us."

Comments

Nevada is bad. Michigan is an overrated team at 4-1. Michigan State is just a little bit better than their record at 2-3. Purdue is bad, very bad at 1-4. And Washington is 2-3. One play away from being 5-0 and three plays away from 1-4. 3 of the 5 games at home (road game at Purdue). Combined record of their opponents: 10-14. Take away the loss against Michigan: 6-13. At least when top 10 teams struggle, it's against good teams, not Mount Carmel's schedule.

You're signature win is a loss to USC four years ago. ND's record against top 10 teams under Charlie is 0 for 7 or 8. There might be 3 ranked teams on the schedule this year and you'll likely lose to all 3.

I thought it was a great win against a much improved team.Gotta give Washington credit and give their QB his
just due. Also to Washington's freshman CB.
But I do not agree with deferring and not taking the ball
ith their coin toss win.
I'm very happy for Randy Hart.
Washington is also a great school
John

What planet is this guy on? He's trying to cover for the fact that this team looks mediocre against mediocre teams and will continue to struggle against less than stellar opposition. Weis needs to go and he needs to go NOW!

Olly,
Check your facts dude, Charlie beat number 4 ranked Michigan in his first year. And if you compare ND's schedule and Florida's at this point, you would have an awful hard time arguing that Florida has played a tougher schedule. The same with Penn State. I mean College of Charleston, Troy, Akron, Youngstown State and Temple wouyld go a collective 0-5 against any of the teams ND has played so far.

Notre Lame is NOT as good as anyone and after the total dismantling they will take from USC this kind of talk will not resurface. This team is nothing more than a very average middle of the road .500 team. They have not beat one solid team yet. I will give them some credit though for being able to win at the end of games, although they have been lucky in 2 of those games the other two they made the play. However these are teams they should be blowing out, not beating in the last second. The real problem with notre lame is their HORRIBLE and I mean HORRIBLE defense. Maybe they can steal a Big East's Bowl game, but they are not going to be in college football's top 15 elite this year.

I love how upset the ND hating nerds get over these little snippets. Of course Weis is going to think his team deserves to be ranked. The reporters ask him questions and he answer's them honestly. There are a bunch of ranked teams who haven't played or beaten anybody yet this season. I'm sure every 4-1 team in the nation thinks they deserve to ranked.

This is all a money play by ND. Charlie is trying to move ND up in the ratings because they are not headed for a BCS Bowl if they can not get rated. Assuming they lose to USC, getting into a a high enough rating by the end of the year is not going to happen unless they whine, whine, whine. The reality is the days f ND getting ratings on their legacy are dead. They no longer start in the top 20 simply by name. Charlie is finding it tough to earn his way in. Keep listening, the next statement from South Bend will be about ND prejudice.

As usual, Charlie Weis is full of it - I don't expect him to run his own team down to the media, but don't brag on a team that has struggled to beat very mediocre competition. I am actually rooting for USC next game because I'm convinced that ND will not rise again until this fat windbag is out of South Bend.

ND's schedule is obviously tougher than Penn State's (Akron, Syracuse, Temple, Illinois) or Texas' (Louisiana Monroe, Wyoming, Texas Tech and UTEP). Penn State lost their only real game--against Iowa. OSU has beaten Navy, Toledo, Indiana and Illinois and lost their only challenge--USC. If ND beats USC, then shouldn't they be ranked above OSU? Bet the anti-ND bias prevents that from happening.

All this crap about them being 4-1 struggling against bad competition is nonsense. They won the games against decent competition that always gets fired up for national TV against ND. It DOES mean you cannot make a case for them being an elite team, but it DOESN'T mean you can write them off as not being as good as many of those other teams 15-25. At this point in the year there isn't much difference between #15 and "others receiving votes", since that's so dependent on where they started in the ridiculous preseason rankings. Nobody should have any problem with ND being voted as a top 30 team right now. It will all play out over the next 4 weeks or so.

Notre Dame is just fine. 4-1 is 4-1. People crack me up. Washington beat USC but ND is supposed to just crush Washington. They won thats the bottom line and the last I checked Washington beat USC...... Go Irish

well, first of all is ND a great team? no at this point. are they a good team? yes. Their easy schedule isnt so easy anymore. Standford 4-1, BC 4-1, Pitt 4-1, USC 4-1, UConn 3-1, Navy 3-2. Now, Washington is a better team, MSU is better than their record, and UM is an Okay team. You look at their schedule - every team but Navy is from the Pac-10, Big 10 or Big East and one team from Mountain West. No 1-AA teams. Texas, Florida, Alabama, PSU havent played anybody this year. The list goes on for top teams. Oklahoma and Miami have played tough schedules. Major teams pad their schedules with easy teams. ND isnt a great team but are greatly improved from last year. Is Weis a great coach? No, but he is good. The defense needs help, but played better against Washington. Come on 3 goal line stands!!! What i find amazing is last year they hated Weis because he lost. Now they hate him because of how he WINS!!! they are winning, all of these games are games they would of lost a year ago. Unless you have a super star coach in the waiting, firing Weis would be a huge mistake. He has great recruits coming in and recruited well so far. They are far from being elite again, but definitely better than last year. look at the talent they have. They didnt have this talent under TY or Davie. Weis is learning as he goes and made the right decision getting a new line coach. ND sooooo bad talent wise that 3rd year (not really his recruits). How can you not be happy with the progress. I love ND haters first they chose them to lose, but when they win its oh they should of won anyways, look at how they struggled against a bad team (but a team they picked to beat them) They say washington is bad, but two weeks ago they were great for beating USC. They have a tough schedule ahead besides USC, but this team is a ton better than the year before. You have to give Weis that.

"If you compare ND's schedule and Florida's at this point, you would have an awful hard time arguing that Florida has played a tougher schedule. The same with Penn State. I mean College of Charleston, Troy, Akron, Youngstown State and Temple wouyld go a collective 0-5 against any of the teams ND has played so far."

"ND's schedule is obviously tougher than Penn State's (Akron, Syracuse, Temple, Illinois) or Texas' (Louisiana Monroe, Wyoming, Texas Tech and UTEP). Penn State lost their only real game--against Iowa. OSU has beaten Navy, Toledo, Indiana and Illinois and lost their only challenge--USC. If ND beats USC, then shouldn't they be ranked above OSU? Bet the anti-ND bias prevents that from happening"

The AP poll is a joke. When you see Oklahoma rated ahead of Miami. You see Brigham Young rated ahead of South Florida. This is especially ridiculous since South Florida is 5-0 and beat FSU. easily and FSU destroyed BYU.

If I had the time I could bring up a few more. How does the AP become sports writers with their limited knowledge of college football?

I thinks its hillarous how people who arent even ND fans, have so little to do with their lives than jump on an ND blog and comment. Im sure they are only doing so because both the Illini and Wildcats are horrid losing to everyone. Including Mount Carmels schedule. If this were U of I winning these games, you same people would be proclaiming that this is a magical season and that your team is rose bowl bound.

Take a look at the teams ranked 10-25. Not that good. Maybe those teams beat one ranked team, the others are usually worse than ND's opponents or Div II-A (which ND has never played).

ND cannot be ranked because Michigan was ranked between 23-25 last few weeks, and they beat ND. ND cant be ranked higher than them at this point. Michigans only quality win was against ND. Even with identical records, ND cant be ranked above until they beat a ranked opponent, which with U$C, Pitt, BC coming up they will have the chance as these teams are or will be ranked.

About Brian Hamilton

Brian Hamilton was assigned to the Notre Dame beat in July 2007 and is curious to see if fans have any interest in what happens to the football team there.

Since joining the Tribune in September 2005, Brian has covered everything from the Illinois high school cheerleading championships to the WNBA to the Final Four and Super Bowl XLI, nearly all of it without embarrassment. In the summer of 2006, he wrote a profile of a plucky, under-the-radar recruit named Jimmy Clausen, giving the kid an infusion of much-needed publicity.

Prior to arriving at the Tribune, Brian spent six years scraping permafrost off his notebook while working in Minnesota at the St. Paul Pioneer Press and mainly covering college football, basketball and the NBA's Timberwolves. This after attending one of the best schools for journalism in America, Northwestern University, and taking full advantage by majoring in English and creative writing while dropping his one journalism class after two weeks.

Brian grew up on the north side of Westfield, N.J., and now lives in Lakeview. He has many leather-bound books and his apartment smells of rich mahogany. Merlin Olsen comes over on occasion.